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Russm: Have at it! Please keep us informed how this project proceeds.
BTW, I would guess you might need more like $250K to start up a real boot company. Boots are the hardest (and most expensive) thing to make, especially if one wants good fit, light weight, and good performance. A board start up company is a piece of cake compared to boots-this is why most good ski and mountaineering boots are still made in Europe, the design and manufacturing expertise just does not exist in the far east (where the toy snowboard boots come from).

a pair i could get more than a couple of months out of

A pair that actually fits

I'm with Barrows on this 1, rando race boots come close, but I'd add a couple features;
lockable lateral flex at the hinge pivot, bellows at the toe like tele and rando race boots for better stride hiking & skinning.
The same lower boot shell with vibram style sole, bellows for walking flex but stiff enough for ice climbing crampons, dynafit inserts & plate binders eliminating the need for straps and highbacks, can be mated to softboot flex cuff and tongue for duck and lower angles, or hardboot cuff & tongue for steeper alpine style angles.
Using existing rando boot molds can lower startup costs with minor adjustments for lateral lockouts. New plastic formulas and flexy liners for the softy version, existing plastics and stiffer liners for the hardboot version.
we'd still be looking at AT boot prices but a feature stripped version with cheaper materials could hit $400 price point

Product Description
A new Dynafit boot to once again change the ski mountaineering market. The unique choice for anyone looking for the best boots to challenge long distance and high altitude tours with agility. Also the best option for tours with difficult climbing both on ice and rock, thanks to its short rockered sole and perfect compatibility with crampons. And as if that's not enough, the Downhill Booster tongue makes it extremely supportive during even the most technical and steep descents. Plus the racing derived Ultra-Lock System provides incredible cuff rotation and uphill agility with one super fast movement, to transition between walk and ski mode.

The Mountain version is made with a Pebax cuff for a great combination of lightness and downhill performance, and is targeted at a wider range of users...And combined with a superior comfort TF-X liner.

Backcountry Magazine Editor's Choice winner

Specs:
• Color: White/Green
• Shell: Grilamid
• Cuff/Spoiler: Pebax
• Buckles: Ultra-Lock System
• Forward lean: 15 degrees + release for walking
• Cuff rotation: 60 derees
• Sole: Claw
• Weight: TF-X: 1225g (size 27.5)
• Sizes: 22.5 - 30.5 + 1/2 sizes
• Bindings: Dynafit Quick Step-In, compatible with standard touring bindings
This is close; with the softer tongue & cuff the only missing element is a lateral flex lock out in place of the cuff hinge. At 1220 gm as light as a good soft boot w/out the need for sraps & highbacks. expensive at $750 but way more durable than any soft boot

I checked out the above boots at the shop. I was hoping they would work for splitboard use ('cause they are freakin' light) but the welt ledges are not DIN, and I am definitely sketched on whether these would always stay clipped in to a plate binding. It appears to me that high torsional forces might allow a release, and I cannot risk a release.
The forward lean mech is a little sketchy as well (hard to describe, you need to see them and try it out), but perhaps mods/work arounds could be done for that. The boot would still require some modding for softer flex, but it could be made to work.
I still think the Scarpa F3 is the best AT boot to mod up into a great performing split boot. Too bad they are no longer around.

My dream snowboard boot will ought to be ready to be tested latest sometime in April. It will have proper mountaineering Vibram sole and heel clip for semi-automatic crampons. Otherwise it´s a normal soft snowboarding boot.

400 bux is around what you'd pay for decent soft boots here in Canada. I'd be willing to pay more if I could get a splitboard specific hard boot that is crampon/dynafit compatible and ride like traditional snowboard boots. You also have to factor in durability (plastic boots should hold their rigidity longer). I average 2 seasons from a pair of Driver Xs ($400CAN), hard boots should last significantly longer so I'd be willing to pay more.

On top of that, if you consider the increase in skinning/ski efficiency you'd have a pretty solid product that should appeal to most splitters.

JJH, anymore deets on your project? Sounds interesting.

My background is briefly this: I´m from Finland which is about the flattest country on Earth. Not really but that´s how it feels. I started snowboarding in 87, and have been into hiking stuff since run 1. I moved to Chamonix for winters in 91 and really got into back country, freeride, hiking, extremeriding and that sort of activities there. Great place to be for sure...
Since then I´ve spent my winters there or elsewhere in Europe, and I´ve also traveled to other nice places, f.ex AK a couple of times (for example I rode from the summit of Denali via Messner couloir in June 97), Caucasus and so forth.

I´ve used crampons to access stuff for over 15 years and I´ve been splitting over 10 years, and have, like most everybody here I guess, always thought that the boots I´ve used are really not that good for my snowboard mountaineering needs.

I´ve tried out all kinds of systems. My first sort of a proper pair of boots was actually a boot with plastic lower with vibram sole, and something softer as the top part. On Denali, where I´ve actually been twice, the first time I went I used a pair of Burton boots with a Comformable foam liner. As for crampons I had really old strap on Salewa Everests from 70s (great crampon btw, if you can find them, by them right away!). This set up was sort of ok, but far from perfect, the old Burton shell was quite sloppy, too soft to give any support etc, and the liner was cold as fuck... Second time, which was in 99, I used a pari of customized plastic Koflachs, with a Raichle Thermoflex liner, which was warmer, and I could use automatic crampons, which was nice. This system was better, but I think the hardish plastic and stiff sole lacks feeling you wanna get from a soft boot. I thought it was also bit high on the heels, so I never really used them elsewhere.

Anyways, I´ve always looked for someone to help me out make the boot I´d like to have. Last summer on a climbing trip I hooked up with a friend of a friend, who just happens to be a shoemaker. I had a little chat about this, and he got interested, and now we are working together to make it happen. He´s snowboarder himself, so he knows how a boot should feel..

We´ve looked into several pairs of snowboard boots as well as ice climbing/mountaineering boots (leather and plastic, light and heavy), hiking boots and old leather teleboots to get as good an idea as possible of what we need to have in it. Simplicity is what we are mainly looking for. We are going to start out by making a boot out of leather, as we feel it´s good to start from the basics, before, if it ever happens, we start using other materials.

It´s quite exciting to do this, and I hope we´ll have something on my feet by March or April. Maybe even sooner.

If we get it right, my buddy may be interested in making boots for others, too.

I´m sort of thinking of making a little blog once we really get going...

F'n sweet, you got any pics? I assume you were using the Burtons on this trip, did you need/use an overboot?

I saw my first splitboard on Denali, and have been scheming to get back there with one ever since. Cheers

Id love to shred Denali as well. Plan on climbing it in the next 5 years, might as well shred down it. Let us know on the boot progress. If they are anything like these, I'll take a pair!!!

JJH, this sounds like a really cool project. I like your idea of starting conservatively from the basics and then going from there.

JJH, sounds really great! be sure to post a link to the blog if you get one up and running!